30/07/2013

Tencel, part 2

Time for the V. Maybe I'm just out of practice, but I thought I had problems I don't usually have.


Also, my usual finishing manipulation was nearly impossible because of the tight sett. (The fold often needs slight adjustments to some of the ends.) So, for short, the "dry finishing" took a lot longer than I am used to. And I had no idea whether I could clip the woven-in ends or not. (In the end I did not)


Finally, it was done, and all fringes were twisted.

Before wet finishing, two things were very noticeable: it was extremely sturdy, also very heavy.
Into the washing machine it went, and came out feeling much the same. No shrinkage, no blooming (but I knew that). Also no drape...

Pressing did a lot. Now, it is still heavy (of course), but it does not feel "sturdy". It also does not drape as I had expected (but it is plain weave, which does not exactly help - but from all the "rave reviews" I had expected more.) I may have to try mangling it, but that is for another day.

I wonder how the knots in the fringes will hold up? They look half-chewed-up just with the first washing. How does the rest of the world treat tencel fringes?



- And, I may have invented a new way of wearing a small V:



So what have I learned?
- Tencel is not a forgiving yarn, so it is probably not a good choice for V-shawls.
- Tencel is heavy, which means I will want much finer, if I'm going to weave something "serious".
Which adds up to: I'm not a convert (yet). (But I have a cone of white 30/2...)

For Charlotte: this yarn was given to me by Laura Fry - I asked for it, just because I haven't seen any Scandinavian place offering it fot sale. But it is supposed to be produced in both the UK and in Austria...

2 comments:

mormor said...

Himla snygg, även om du hade lite problem med den.
Hälsningar Monika

Anonymous said...

Tencel fabrics softens when placed in a dryer for a few minutes without heat. The ends look better if you twist them after wet finishing and placing in the dryer. I secure the ends before wet finishing by loosely braiding the ends in large sections and securing with rubber bands; wet finish; place in dryer for 3 - 5 minutes no heat; press the fabric and smooth the ends with the iron; then, for me the last step is twisting the ends and cutting the 'tassels' even with a rotary cutter. My method adds a step or two (braiding and unbraiding) but I like the look of the fringes better that way with rayon yarns.
Stephanie S